Our Strength and Help

But You, Lord, don’t be far away. My strength, come quickly to help me. – (Psalm 22:19, HCSB)

Lord, don’t leave me! You are my strength – hurry and help me! – (Psalm 22:19, ERV)

But You, O Eternal, stay close; O You, my help, hurry to my side. – (Psalm 22:19, VOICE)

If David, a mighty warrior who became a powerful king knew to call on the Lord to be his strength in times of trouble or weariness, how much more can we? God is faithful to be near, and He hears us as we call on His Name to be our help and our hope. The Lord strengthens us in our weariness, and remains present through all things. May we ever seek the Lord to be our help, hope and strength, for He is faithful in all things and at all times.

O Lord, be our strength,

Please ever be near;

Our help and our hope,

Who makes our paths clear.

Come quickly, O God,

We need strength and love;

Lead us forward well,

By Your grace above.

Show us Your kindness,

Direct all our ways;

Teach us what is best,

Throughout each new day.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are the help and hope that we can depend on. Thank You that You hear our cries for help and You sustain us with Your presence and love. Forgive us for our fears and doubts when our circumstances seem to be too much. Show us again how You love and help us in all things and at all times. Lead us to love and walk alongside one another well. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we call on You to be our strength and help throughout all our days. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoiced, and I praise Him with my song. – Psalm 28:7

The Delight of Our Father

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. – (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV)

The Lord your God is with you. He is like a powerful soldier. He will save you. He will show you how much He loves you and how happy He is with you. He will laugh and be happy about you. – (Zephaniah 3:17, ERV)

Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, He’ll calm you with His love and delight you with His songs. – (Zephaniah 3:17, MSG)

 

There are days that I am overwhelmed by the weight of the world, and am acutely aware of my own shortcomings. The truth of God’s word reminds me of Who is actually in the fight. God is with us, for us, and He delights in us. When we choose to love and follow Him, He sings over us with His songs of love. What a beautiful picture this reminder provides, as our God is both Mighty Warrior and Loving Father who delights in His children. A regular reminder that I am provided is how much my husband delights in little kids. He cannot go anywhere without making little ones smile, giggle, or at least wave at him. His heart is so tender toward little children, that his heart grants me a glimpse of the truth of who God is and how He loves each one of us.

 

The Lord, He is near,

My Viking & his great-niece ❤

He’s mighty to save;

Strength in the battle,

His love makes us brave.

God delights in us,

Over us, He sings;

Comfort and great peace,

His presence does bring.

So, ever seek Him,

In everything;

The Lord in His love,

Our Eternal King.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that You are our Mighty Warrior who saves, and our Loving Father who delights over us with singing. Forgive us for not recognizing Your ability to be both all-powerful and all-loving when we are in the midst of struggles. Teach us to trust You more, for You are greater than all that weighs us down. Show us how to love those around us in Your strength and grace, so that many may come to forever seek Your face. Be glorified O God, as we trust in Your strength and rest in Your love. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

 

The Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love. – Psalm 147:11

Turn to Trust

But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. – (Psalm 56:3, NLT)

When struck by fear, I let go, depending securely upon You alone. – (Psalm 56:3, VOICE)

When I get really afraid I come to You in trust. – (Psalm 56:3, MSG)

 

I so appreciate that these were the honest words prayed by the heart of David, who was a mighty warrior. As one who had fought lions, giants, armies, elements, exhaustion and having to endure the anguish of alone, he identified and admitted his fear, and recognized and ran to the One in whom he knew he could trust. God was faithful to be present and protect David, despite the times of trial that he endured. The very same God who was worthy of such trust for David, remains present, approachable and available for each of us today. If fear attempts to find footing, we have One to whom we can run. May we depend securely upon the Lord alone, for He is the One in whom we can place all of our trust.

 

When fear tries creep in,

May we turn to trust;

For our God alone,

Is faithful and just.

As we choose let go,

Give God all our fear;

He makes His heart known,

Through His drawing near.

To come still closer,

The Lord welcomes us;

To release each fear,

And trust in Jesus.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that when we are afraid, we can come to You and trust You to be present and faithful to remain with us. Thank You that You never leave us nor forsake us. Forgive us for choosing to remain frozen in our fears, rather than running to You and laying them at Your feet. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would bring You our every fear, and trust You to lead us and guide us through the spaces that seem far beyond what we are equipped to handle. Show us how to love well, every person that we encounter, so that they might gain glimpses of You through how we love. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we trust You when we are afraid, knowing that You are faithful; always. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Listen… be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. – Proverbs 23:19

Sing Over Me

image by Brenda Boen

There are few things as soothing as the sweet sound of singing.  In the middle of the tornado in Oklahoma, teachers told their students to join them in song to help distract them, and keep them calm.  A dear friend of mine, nearly every time I see her, prays that I might be aware of His singing over me, prior to our parting.  When I was quite young, and felt afraid because of what was going on around me, I would softly sing songs to Jesus that I had never heard before.  Yesterday, as I was reading one of the many wonderful blogs that I follow (charispsallo.wordpress.com), this verse jumped out at me and wrapped its way around my heart:

“The Lord your God is with you,

the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

in His love He will no longer rebuke you,

but will rejoice over you with singing.”

– Zephaniah 3:17

My response:

The Lord God is with us,

Mighty Warrior who saves.

The Light in our darkness,

to the end of our days.

He will take great delight,

in His daughters and sons;

His love is forever,

for all His chosen ones.

No more need for anger,

rebuke, wrath nor disdain;

for He hears our calling,

through the wind and the rain.

Embraced and forgiven,

heaven’s bells are ringing;

as our loving Father,

is over us singing.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that not only are You the God who saves, who is with us, who delights in us and loves us, but what an overwhelmingly beautiful gift – to think that You, the Creator of all, would rejoice over us with singing!  Thank You for the soothing gift of songs; how the sweet sound can suddenly settle even the most unsettled of souls.  Forgive us for not offering proper praise, as a song unto You should be ever on our hearts, in response to who You are.  May our hearts and voices be open to sing praise to You, and may many be moved toward Your majesty through the truth that is sung through our life song.  Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Moreno and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present